Exercise system comprising rocking chair and footstool

Abstract

An exercise system comprising a rocking chair and a footstool. The rocking chair comprises a seat, a back support, a base, and rocking means. Rocking resistance means are provided for requiring that an additional force be applied to the rocking chair to maintain a rocking motion. The footstool comprises a foot rest positionable with respect to the rocking chair such that the feet of a user are supported on a foot support surface of the foot rest when the user is seated upon the rocking chair. Means for adjusting the height and angle of the foot rest are also provided. A method for selectively exercising specific muscle groups in a user's legs with the exercise system is also described.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair having a seat and two runners operatively connected to the seat such that a user may sit on the seat and maintain a rocking motion, the chair comprising:  
       i. a back support positioned relative to the seat such that the user may sit on the seat with the user's back positioned against the back support; and  
       ii. a frame positioned below the seat and above the runners for supporting the seat and back support above the runners, the comprising a support bar;  
       b. a rocking resistance operatively connected to the rocking chair, the rocking resistance comprising weights removably mountable on the support bar of the frame and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair to maintain the rocking motion; and  
       c. clamps for removably securing the weights to the frame.  
     
     
       2. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair having two runners;  
       b. a rocking resistance operatively connected to the rocking chair, the rocking resistance comprising at least one weight and a clamp for removably attaching the weight to the rocking chair and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair to maintain a rocking motion; and  
       c. a footstool comprising:  
       i. a foot rest having a foot support surface, the foot rest being positionable with respect to the rocking chair such that the feet of a user are supported on the foot support surface when the user is seated upon the rocking chair; and  
       ii. an adjustment assembly on the foot rest for adjusting the height and angle of the foot rest.  
     
     
       3. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair comprising:  
       i. a seat;  
       ii. a frame positioned below the seat for supporting the seat about a fulcrum and above the ground, the frame including a support bar; and  
       iii. two runners operatively connected to the seat such that a user may sit on the seat and maintain a rocking motion so that the seat rotates about the fulcrum;  
       b. a rocking resistance operatively connected to the rocking chair, the rocking resistance comprising weights removably mountable on the frame and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair to maintain the rocking motion, wherein the weights are shaped to removably hook onto the support bar.  
     
     
       4. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair having a seat and two runners operatively connected to the seat such that a user may sit on the seat and maintain a rocking motion;  
       b. a frame positioned below the seat and above the runners for supporting the seat above the runners, the frame having a support bar; and  
       c. a rocking resistance, operably connected to the rocking chair, having weights shaped to removably hook onto the support bar and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair to maintain the rocking motion.  
     
     
       5. The exercise system of  claim 4  comprising a clamp for removably securing the weights to the frame, the clamp having an attachment section for removable attachment relative to the frame and a u-shaped end clasp for engaging the weight to hold the weight in position. 
     
     
       6. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair comprising:  
       i. a seat;  
       ii. a frame positioned below the seat for supporting the seat about a fulcrum and above the ground; and  
       iii. two runners operatively connected to the seat such that a user may sit on the seat and maintain a rocking motion so that the seat rotates about the fulcrum;  
       b. a rocking resistance, operably connected to the rocking chair, having weights removably mountable on the frame and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair to maintain the rocking motion; and  
       c. a clamp for removably securing the weights to the frame, the clamp having an attachment section for removable attachment relative to the frame and a u-shaped end clasp for engaging the weight to hold the weight in position.  
     
     
       7. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair having a seat and two runners operatively connected to the seat such that a user may sit on the seat and maintain a rocking motion wherein the runners are oriented relative to the seat so that the user's body weight is supported by the runners during the rocking motion thereby reducing resistance due to the user's body weight;  
       b. a frame for supporting the seat relative to the rocker, the frame having a support bar;  
       c. a rocking resistance, operably connected to the rocking chair, having weights shaped to removably hook onto the support bar and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair to maintain the rocking motion; and  
       d. a footstool operably associated with the chair, comprising:  
       i. a foot rest having a foot support surface, the foot rest being positionable with respect to the rocking chair such that the feet of the user are supported on the foot support surface when the user is seated upon the rocking chair; and  
       ii. an adjustment assembly on the foot rest for adjusting the height and angle of the foot rest.  
     
     
       8. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair having a seat and two runners operatively connected to the seat such that a user may sit on the seat and maintain a rocking motion wherein the runners are oriented relative to the seat so that the user's body weight is supported by the runners during the rocking motion thereby reducing resistance due to the user's body weight;  
       b. a frame for supporting the seat relative to the rocker;  
       c. a rocking resistance, operably connected to the rocking chair, having weights removably mountable on the frame operatively connected to the rocking chair and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair to maintain the rocking motion;  
       d. a clamp for removably securing the weights to the frame, the clamp having an attachment section for removable attachment relative to the frame and a u-shaped end clasp for engaging the weight to hold the weight in position; and  
       e. a footstool comprising:  
       i. a foot rest having a foot support surface, the foot rest being positionable with respect to the rocking chair such that the feet of the user are supported on the foot support surface when the user is seated upon the rocking chair; and  
       ii. an adjustment assembly on the foot rest for adjusting the height and angle of the foot rest.  
     
     
       9. An exercise system comprising: 
       a. a rocking chair having a seat and a support for supporting the seat in an orientation permitting the seat to be rocked by a user relative to the support to achieve a rocking motion;  
       b. a rocking resistance operatively connected to the rocking chair, the rocking resistance comprising at least one weight and a clamp for removably attaching the weight to the rocking chair and having a magnitude sufficient for requiring an additional force to be applied to the rocking chair for a rocking motion;  
       c. a resistance adjustment for the rocking resistance to enable the rocking resistance to be adjusted to a different amount of resistance to thereby require a different amount of force to be applied for the rocking motion; and  
       d. a footstool operatively associated with the rocking chair comprising:  
       i. a foot rest having a foot support surface, the foot rest being positionable with respect to the rocking chair such that the feet of a user may be supported on the foot support surface when the user is seated upon the rocking chair; and  
       ii. an adjustment assembly on the foot rest for adjusting the height and angle of the foot support surface to a selected position and for maintaining the foot support surface at the selected position during the rocking motion of the rocking chair.